Maybe you woke up this morning feeling a bit down, or maybe
you feel like giving up. We are all human and we are entitled to have our down
days.
If you are having any doubts today about something then repeat after me
"I CAN DO THIS". Write it on the back of your hand and keep on
looking at it throughout the day.
Exercise addiction may not necessarily sound like a bad
thing to everyone. After all, numerous studies have demonstrated the physical
and emotional health benefits of regular exercise -- it is essential to our
well-being. Unlike other addictive behaviors, we are encouraged to exercise
more. However, there is such a thing as exercise addiction -- and it can have
harmful consequences.
I have come across many such people who are absolutely
obsessed with exercise. These people feel depressed if they did not train
enough that day, missed a workout and did not burn enough calories on the
treadmill.
Exercise addiction is probably the most contradictory of all
the addictions as it is widely promoted as an effective part of treatment for
most mental health problems. It is even promoted as part of a complete program
of recovery from other addictions.
I came across this brilliant article By Janice Utley about a
confessed exercise addict:
I’m addicted to exercise. It ruined my holidays, my social life and my marriage, but I can’t stop
A few weeks ago, I went out for a meal with some
girlfriends. As soon as I walked through the front door I felt restless,
obsessing about the fact that I hadn't done enough exercise that day to burn
off all the calories I'd just eaten. It was gone midnight but it didn't matter. I began to run up
and down on the spot.I calculated that I'd need to do this for at least an hour
before I could allow myself to go to bed. Afterwards, I was so
hyper that I couldn't sleep. That's what life as an exercise addict is like.Every day I must jog, weight-train or swim for several hours
(a minimum of three to four) or I feel ratty and unable to concentrate. Exercise gives me such a high that it feels like I'm
floating. Read more...
How to recognize exercise addiction
Recognizing exercise addiction is not based entirely on the
quantity of your workouts. World-class athletes often train for long periods
every day and they would not necessarily be labeled as addicts. Compulsive
exercise is more about a person’s feelings toward exercise and how compulsive
exercising affects their life. Here are some questions to ask yourself
regarding exercise addiction:
Have I missed a social event because I felt the need to
exercise instead?
Do friends and family feel neglected because I am frequently
exercising instead of spending time with them?
Do I feel guilty when I miss a planned workout?
Does missing a workout make me feel irritable and ruin my
day?
Do I feel anxious when I think something with interfere with
scheduled workouts?
Do I feel that my physical condition will be compromised if
I don’t exercise for one day?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, it
could be a sign that you have developed an unhealthy relationship with
exercise. If this sounds like you, I would recommend seeking help. I would try
finding a counselor or therapist that specializes in body image issues or
eating disorders since there is often a lot of a similarity between these
disorders.
Note: This post is for informational purposes only and should not be
considered medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations.
Chocolate craving is very common, but can we actually be
addicted to it? Can these powerful urges to eat truly be classed as an
addiction?
We generally crave foods due to external prompts and our
emotional state, rather than actual hunger. We tend to be bored, anxious, or
depressed immediately before experiencing cravings, so one way of explaining
cravings is self-medication for feeling miserable.
Chocolate is the most frequently craved food in women, and
many women describe themselves as ‘chocoholics.’ Chocoholics insist that it is
habit-forming, that it produces an instant feeling of well-being, and even that
abstinence leads to withdrawal symptoms.
When we eat sweet and high-fat foods, including chocolate,
serotoninis released, making us feel happier. This partly explains the cravings
common in seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and pre-menstrual syndrome.
In many women, the craving occurs on a monthly cycle, which
suggests a hormonal basis. A recent report in the New Scientist magazine
suggests people can become overly dependent on the sugar and fat in fast food.
Princeton University researcher Dr. John Hoebel found that rats fed on sugar
became anxious when the sugar was removed. Their symptoms included chattering
teeth and the shakes – similar to those seen in people withdrawing from
nicotine or morphine. Dr. Hoebel believes high-fat foods stimulate opioids or
“pleasure chemicals” in the brain. This theory is backed up by many other
studies.
Chocolate contains several biologically active ingredients,
all of which can cause abnormal behaviors and psychological sensations like
those of other addictive substances. Researchers at the University of Tampere
in Finland found that self-proclaimed chocolate “addicts” salivated more in the
presence of chocolate, and showed a more negative mood and higher anxiety. The
researchers state that chocolate addicts show traits of regular addiction,
because they exhibit craving for chocolate, irregular eating behavior, and
abnormal moods.
Although there are similarities between eating chocolate and
drug use, generally researchers believe that chocolate “addiction” is not a
true addiction. While chocolate does contain potentially mood-altering
substances, these are all found in higher concentrations in other less
appealing foods such as broccoli. A combination of chocolate’s sensory
characteristics — sweetness, texture and aroma — nutrients, and chemicals,
together with hormonal and mood swings, largely explains chocolate cravings.
Chocolate is seen as “naughty but nice” — tasty, but
something which should be resisted. This suggests that the desire is more
likely a cultural phenomenon than a physical one. The inability to control
eating may be a result of inborn traits and today’s environment.
“Humans used to have to search for food,” according to
Baylor College of Medicine researcher Dr. Ken Goodrick. “Now food searches us
out.”
We are overwhelmed with advertising, large-scale grocery
displays, plenty of high-calorie foods, and an obsession with thinness. The
stress of modern living often makes us turn to food for comfort, then return to
a restrictive diet. The attempt to restrain ourselves before we are satisfied
increases the desire for chocolate.
Tips to Curb Chocolate Craving
If you can satisfy a chocolate craving with only two
chocolate peanuts, then go for it. If you’re not so lucky:
Discover if the craving is emotional – there are all sorts
of reasons why people crave foods. It can often be related to feelings of low
self-esteem or depression. If you can identify your reasons, then try another
approach to tackling the problem.
Incorporate small portions of chocolate into your usual
diet, rather than restrict yourself. Moderation is the key. A research trial
found that people who limited eating chocolate to within half an hour of eating
a meal gradually weaned themselves off their craving.
If you are feeling bored and craving chocolate, go for a
walk, run errands, call a friend or read a book. If you can take your mind off
food for a short time, the craving may pass.
Make sure you always have healthy food nearby, so you can
replace chocolate with fruit a few times a day. Eat an overall balanced diet,
eat regularly to avoid hunger, and eat more slowly. When your blood sugar
levels are stable, cravings are less likely to occur.
If you think it’s necessary, do not allow chocolate in the
house. Ask friends and family not to buy you chocolate, or even not to eat it
in front of you!
Finally, it is a good idea to increase your level of
exercise, to burn off excess calories and increase your metabolic rate.
Exercise also releases endorphins, which counteracts stress, anxiety and
depression.
Is there a difference between weight loss and fat loss?
If, like many people, you said yes, you guessed wrong. Fat
loss and weight loss are not the same thing at all. In fact, they are not even
close.
If you browse the diet book section of your local bookstore,
or surf the Web, you will see that most books and diet programs contain the
words weight loss in their title or subtitle. Most diet programs are about
weight loss, which is the incorrect approach to this whole area. As a trainer
and author specializing in healthy fat loss and fitness, I recommend you only
concern yourself with taking off excess fat.
An all too common myth is that dieting, no matter the
method, will make you healthy. Losing weight can be approached from two
directions: the healthy and the unhealthy way. Making long term lifestyle
choices will help you lead a healthy lifestyle, lose weight and get you to your
healthy weight range while short term crash diets will set you up for failure.
As a Personal Trainer I am often faced with the topic of
Nutrition and planning it. Rightfully so, as I believe it plays about a 70%
role in the contribution towards the health and aesthetic goals you are looking
to achieve. The saying: “You are what you Eat”, really rings true for me as our
bodies are one of the most high performance, complex machines ever given to us.
You wouldn’t just put any old oil or fuel in a Ferrari would you, well why then
don’t we treat our bodies even better than that.
